Yes, my semi-auto AR is a Armalite AR10a4 up dated in green. Here in Oklahoma if you hunt a AR in .223 you are limited to a 5 round magazine. No limits on magazine capicty in any higher caliber. Go figure Joe

Assault rifle is a meaningless term. It's not a descriptive term used by people who know guns.

I almost agree with you, especially when I see the convoluted laws California passed to try to control "certain" weapons. Having said that, there seems to be a lot of common features other than fully automatic that people facing a potential gunfight want to have on their weapons. Do these features in any way characterize a class of weapons? I am trying to be fair here, not create a justification for a ban.

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Originally Posted by mike321

I almost agree with you, especially when I see the convoluted laws California passed to try to control "certain" weapons. Having said that, there seems to be a lot of common features other than fully automatic that people facing a potential gunfight want to have on their weapons. Do these features in any way characterize a class of weapons? I am trying to be fair here, not create a justification for a ban.

No. There just isn't a class of "assault weapons." It doesn't exist. It is a term used by anyone who wants to identify a scary evil people killing machine. Or some well meaning people who just aren't knowledgeable enough to describe a given weapon any other way.

For instance - an M1A. It's a weapon made for war. They also (most of them anyway) come from the factory with plain walnut stocks with no pistol grip, no rails, no collapsible stock. None of the **** that would typically be associated with an "assault weapon." It is what it is. It's a semiautomatic rifle. Period. Put an aftermarket stock on it and it becomes a scary evil people killing machine. See how that works?

You can also see the hilarity from the assault weapon ban criteria. Take an AR-15 for example. Bayonet lug? Okay, it's an assault weapon. No bayonet lug? It's a sporter. What the ****? Unless you kill some people with the sporter. Then it becomes an assault weapon again. lol. It's like magic.

Any criteria you lay out for assault weapons can quickly be poked full of holes. Let's say any magazine fed semiautomatic rifle is an assault rifle. What about a Ruger 10/22 then? Are you really going to tell every country boy in the U.S. the rifle his grandpa taught him to shoot with out on the farm is a fucking assault rifle? Give me a break.

In my experience, the criteria has been exclusive to actual military weapons, not look-alikes for the civilian market. Yes, flash suppressors, bayonet lugs, pistol grips, detachable magazine and selective fire allowing for fully automatic are characteristics of actual military weapons. The M1A is the civilian version of the M14. Same caliber, same flash suppressor and bayonet lug, but no selective fire. It is a look-alike primarily used for service rifle competition. The AR platform is a similar look-alike to the M16/M4. Many of the characteristics without the capability of selective fire to fully automatic. While I served, I do not recall ever being directed to bring my assault rifle for the engagement. :)

S0 true , most of the poeple are ingorant of firearms. The newies love big bad scary themes to sell their news(right or wrong).Almost all of our hunting and target firearms were first used by the Military. Joe

For instance - an M1A. It's a weapon made for war. They also (most of them anyway) come from the factory with plain walnut stocks with no pistol grip, no rails, no collapsible stock. None of the **** that would typically be associated with an "assault weapon." It is what it is. It's a semiautomatic rifle. Period. Put an aftermarket stock on it and it becomes a scary evil people killing machine. See how that works?

While you are generally right with regards to the superficial nature of the AWB, technically you are incorrect with regards to the M1A. The M1A is Springfield Armory Inc.'s semi automatic only copy of the M14, which is select fire capable (though most were configured for semi automatic fire only), gas operated shoulder fired weapon with a detachable box magazine capable of holding 20 rounds, which was designed by the original Springfield Armory as the intended replacement for the M1 rifle, M1 carbine, BAR, M1 Thompson and M3 grease guns. There are other semi-auto only copies of the M14 using Elmer Balance's receiver design (i.e. no selector lug on the receiver and a modified disconnector notch on the receiver patterned after the one on the M1 Rifle) that use variations of the term "M14" for their rifles. However, none of them were really designed for war but all of them would run afoul of the old AWB and be designed as "assault weapons" (and still do in California and Massachusetts) because the standard design had more than one "evil feature" in addition to the detachable box magazine - a flash suppressor and a bayonet lug. Grind the bayonet lug off or make a flash suppressor without a bayonet lug and it is no longer an "assault weapon" under the old ban.

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